#6 Teen Titans #0

Oh lord do I hate this comic, I'm just gonna get it out there now. A team of super-heroes, several of whom who haven't had proper origin stories ever and they decide to revamp Tim Drake's origin

#5 Batman Annual #1 (The New 52)

You've been waiting for it (probably) and here it finally is: Batman Annual #1 (The New 52)

And so we've come to another rather divisive comic. There are people who really like this comic, and there are people, like me, who hate it. I really, really hate it and it's weird because it isn't an all-round bad book. The artwork is good and in spite of it taking place during a crossover event, it is both integrated and self-contained.

Before I can get into exactly what I hated about it, let's give a little background. Mr Freeze's character had undergone radical changes over the years. He debuted as a character named Mr Zero, but then the Adam West Batman series called him Mr Freeze and show was popular enough for the change to stick. Several iterations of his origins have been told over the years but the most famous is the Batman: The Animated Series' Heart of Ice. Where Victor Fries (convenient name) steals resources from the company he works for, GothCorp, to restore his sick wife, who had been cryogenically frozen. But when GothCorp's CEO, Ferris Boyle, discovers what's going on, he causes a cryogenic accident that affects Fries' skin. Now he cannot survive in normal climate and must use a suit to survive.

Batman The Animated Series made an iconic Mr Freeze, and almost every other origin since has p*ssed all over it

This origin has been butchered in the past. Batman and Robin made Freeze a punning psychopath, wanting to hold the city to hostage to complete his cure (because robbing a bank is too conventional, I guess) and any sympathy for the character was lost because you were too irritated at every freeze-related pun and that fact his plan was ridiculously over-complicated.

Even the DCAU made some slip ups with Mr Freeze, having him descend into stealing hope and living for revenge, both of which made him a lesser character (in my opinion). There were also attempts to use Dini's origin in the mainstream DC Universe. I haven't read the issues so I'm not really qualified to comment on it. In September 2011 DC rebooted their line with the New 52. The idea that continuity is the reason people aren't reading comics is ridiculous anyway (I started reading comics with a number 2 issue) but I digress, it was a perfect opportunity to revisit Mr Freeze, and who better to write his origin that Scott Snyder, who’s work with both the Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne versions of Batman have received high critical acclaim.

Now let me summarize the story of the comic and expect a lot of rage this time.

Guilty Pleasures #2 The Dark Knight Rises

Yup, it's Batman, always Batman. And it’s the third in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. I must admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Batman begins (in fact there are certain parts of it I absolutely hated "I won't kill you, but that doesn't mean I have to save you" YES IT DOES, YOU'RE BATMAN), and was sceptical when the Dark Knight came out. My sister saw it before I did. I only bought it because I had ClubCard coupons and it was cheap at Tesco.

To my surprise, for the most part it was amazing, catching the relationship the Joker has with Batman better than Tim Burton's movie, although they didn't make him all that funny, but you can only ask for so much, especially in this incredibly grim world of Christopher Nolan. So, I came into the cinema to watch the Dark Knight Rises and came out smiling. Then I read all the negative reviews, and found points I genuinely agreed with.

So I wasn’t sure how I'd feel watching it again, but I still enjoyed it, for every flaw, and there are lots of them, I actually still like this movie. Thing is, I have an incredibly hard job explaining why. So, with no idea how this review will end, let's dig into the Dark Knight Rises 

Guilty Pleasures #1 Now you see me

I love this movie! There’s a first for this blog. Now You See Me is magic on the big screen, and its magic that doesn't make you fall asleep (unlike those crappy magicians on <insert country here>’s Got Talent. But being on the big screen does kind of hamper its believability and this movie's plot is so full of holes it’s almost Swiss cheese. I like Swiss cheese (I think) and I like this movie, but let’s tear it apart anyway. I want you to watch this movie, so I’ll try and be light on the spoilers, but since I’m reviewing it mostly from a plot standpoint, full spoilers ahead.

Mini-review: Batman (1989)

#4 Son of Batman

DC’s line of animated movies have been a joy over the last few years, but have varied in quality. Superman unbound is probably the least favourite of the ones I’ve watched, Batman: Under the Red Hood being one of the best. But after a few years of making mostly decent adaptations, they started bringing a new 52 vibe to their adaptations. Justice League: War, and adaptation of the opening arc of Geoff John’s Justice League series is somewhat a guilty pleasure of mine, it’s far from seamless, it makes a mockery of Wonder Woman, ignores Aquaman in favour of Shazam (or Captain Marvel), and is all action with very little actual story...

Batman is a seller for DC, no question about this. It's the main reason he’s in the sequel to Man of Steel, and it's the reason the majority of DC adaptations feature Batman in some way. In 2014 (perhaps down to it being the Dark Knight’s 75^th Anniversary) all 3 of their adaptations feature Batman, with Batman being the star of 2 of them. Whilst the third film, set to bridge a gap between Batman: Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum isn’t due for release yet, the latest DC animated Batman adaptation is Son of Batman.

This review contains lots and lots of spoilers, you have been warned